Strong growth surprises markets – and workers seeing their wages shrink

GDP figures reveal strong economic growth but falling labour costs suggest wage growth remains particularly weak

The latest gross domestic product figures showing the Australian economy grew the strongest it has for four years surprised most analysts and brought a smile to the prime minister and treasurer. The figures, however, reinforce just how dependent we are upon our exports - especially to China - rather than through any great strength within the domestic economy.

In the March quarter Australia's GDP grew by 1.1% in seasonally adjusted terms and a slightly more muted 0.9% in trend terms:

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